DATE: 09/18/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
2024-15
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2024-0002 FOR A 15,565 SQUARE FOOT FIRE STATION AND 9,044 SQUARE FOOT APPARATUS BUILDING ON 1.71 ACRES, LOCATED AT 225 E. HARRISON STREET, IN THE FIRE STATION ZONE AND COMMERCIAL RETAIL DISTRICT OF THE NORTH MAIN STREET SPECIFIC PLAN (APPLICANT:
TRACY MARTIN, CITY OF CORONA, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to affirm the decision by the Planning and Housing Commission granting Conditional Use Permit 2024-0002 (CUP2024-0002) on the reconstruction of Fire Station No. 2 and the construction of a new apparatus building on a combined 1.71 acres located at 225 E. Harrison Street.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2024-0002, based on the finding contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
OR
b. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Fire Station No. 2 was originally built in 1961 and expanded in 1996. Currently, the building is 11,600 square feet and serves as the logistical hub for the Fire Department, housing the Battalion Headquarters, which includes a battalion chief, engine company, truck company and urban search and rescue. Fire Station No. 2 stores the Fire Department’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), tools, equipment and hoses. The station operates with a daily staffing level of nine personnel on a three-shift rotation, for a total of 27 full-time employees assigned to the station. The station is anticipating growth in the next 2-5 years and plans to increase the daily staffing levels by two staff, for a total of 11 personnel daily.
Because of the age and condition of the building, the City is proposing to rebuild a larger fire station at the same location. The rebuild also includes expanding the facility onto a portion of an adjoining 3.49-acre commercial property located at 391 N. Main Street. The commercial property is owned by Rexco, LLC and is developed with an office building and parking lot but includes 0.67 acres of undeveloped land that is located directly to the north of Fire Station No. 2. The fire station has been using this undeveloped area for the storage of equipment and would like to construct permanent facilities. The City has entered into a 30-year lease agreement with Rexco to expand the fire station onto the
0.67 acres. The agreement also grants the City the option to purchase the 0.67 acres from Rexco in the future.
The property at 225 E. Harrison Street is located in the North Main Street Specific Plan and has a zoning and General Plan designation of Fire Station. The 0.67 acres to the north is zoned Commercial Retail and the General Plan land use designation is General Commercial. Per Section 17.92.030 of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC), the fire station use requires approval of a condition use permit in any zone in the City, which is the purpose of CUP2024-0002.
The project is partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. ARPA is a federal funding source provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ARPA funds are time-sensitive and must be fully encumbered by December 31, 2024, and fully expended by December 31, 2026. To meet these funding requirements and maintain operations during construction, the rebuild will be completed in three phases.
The Planning and Housing Commission at its meeting on August 26, 2024, approved CUP2024-0002.
ANALYSIS:
The project includes a new 15,565 square-foot fire station, parking lot, 9,044 square-foot apparatus building, and a 2,360 square-foot temporary building to house onsite living quarters for fire personnel during the construction of the buildings.
Site Plan
The project is being developed in three phases. The following describes the activities that are planned within each phase of development.
Phase 1: Phase 1 includes the construction of the apparatus building, temporary living quarters, and 10 parking spaces at the rear of the site, which is located on the northern portion of the site. The temporary living quarters will allow the fire station to continue to operate during construction. The site has two existing driveways on Harrison Street which will be closed during construction. Therefore, temporary access to the apparatus building and temporary living quarters will be provided through an existing city-owned parking lot located immediately west of the project site. Approximately four parking spaces will be temporarily removed from the city owned parking lot to provide access to the site. Phase 1 is expected to start construction in the first quarter of 2025 and last for approximately two months.
Phase 2: Phase 2 includes the demolition of the existing fire station and grading of the pad for the new fire station building. Phase 2 is expected to start construction in the second quarter of 2025 and last approximately 18 months.
Phase 3: Phase 3 is the final phase and includes the construction of the fire station building and the remainder of the site, including the parking lot, landscaping, perimeter fencing and access from Harrison Street. The two existing driveways on Harrison Street will be reconstructed in the same general locations. Once a certificate of occupancy is issued for the new fire station, the temporary living quarters will be removed from the site.
Phase 3 is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Per the CMC, fire stations are required to comply with the same property development standards that are applicable to the C-3 commercial zone. As shown on the Phase 3 site plan, the layout of the buildings complies with the minimum required yard setback of 10 feet in the front yard. No yard setbacks are required for the side and rear yards, but the site will have yard setbacks of 10 feet and 10.5 feet.
The site proposes 25 parking spaces, of which 22 parking spaces will be for the staff and three parking spaces will be for visitors. The 25 parking spaces are based on the needs of the fire station.
The perimeter fencing is a six-foot high block wall with a plaster finish topped with a decorative cap which will be constructed along the west, east and north perimeters.
Security metal gates are proposed for the east driveway, behind the visitors’ parking spaces.
Floor Plans
The new fire station contains personnel living quarters, captain offices, exercise room, kitchen and dining room, apparatus room, and miscellaneous storage and equipment rooms. The new apparatus building contains approximately 7,480 square feet of apparatus storage with the remaining 1,225 square feet of floor area dedicated to storage for PPE, equipment, and office space. The temporary living quarters contain sleeping and restroom quarters, a captain’s room, living room, dining area and kitchen.
Elevations
The new fire station building has a brick veneer façade with off-white and gray plaster, and tile roofing material. The front façade features a tower at the main entrance and arched openings for the apparatus bays. The non-vehicular portions of the building have hipped roofs which are designed to accommodate and screen rooftop mechanical units from street view. The apparatus storage building has painted metal walls accented with brick veneer to match the proposed fire station and a standing seam metal gable roof.
The buildings are no higher than 29 feet, which is below the CMC’s maximum allowable building height limit of 40 feet.
The architecture is consistent with the architectural style that was selected by the City Council at its meeting on December 6, 2023.
Landscaping
Landscaping consists of approximately 14,367 square feet. The landscape plan includes four types of trees ranging in size from 24-inch to 36-inch box and a variety of shrubs which will be installed within the front yard, parking lot, and areas surrounding the buildings to soften the massing of the buildings and enhance the development’s aesthetics. All plant materials are drought tolerant and will be reviewed for full compliance with the City’s Landscape Ordinance in Chapter 17.70 of the CMC.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant through the allocated American Rescue Plan Act Funds paid the application processing fee of $7,812.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15332 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 3.28 of the City’s Local CEQA Guidelines. A Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because the project qualifies as a Class 32 (In-Fill Development Projects) categorical exemption. The project is consistent with the General Plan, zoning requirements, and would not result in any significant traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality impacts.
Moreover, none of the exceptions to the categorical exemptions listed under Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines apply, as the project will not result in a significant cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place over time or have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances or damage a scenic highway or scenic resources within a state scenic highway. The site is not located on a hazardous waste site and will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of August 26, 2024, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Woody/Longwell) and carried unanimously, with Vice Chair Vernon and Commissioner Alexander absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15332, and adopt Resolution No. 2646 granting CUP2024- 0002, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Locational and zoning map
2. Exhibit 2 – Site plan for Conditional Use Permit 2024-0002
3. Exhibit 3 – Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 – Draft minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 26, 2024